Originally Posted by
Onegun
Lastly, if it is mostly aerodynamics, does anyone know exactly what percent of the bike/rider combination this wind-cheating technology actually represents?
The rider is far and away the largest component of aerodynamic drag. You can argue whether aerodynamic wheels, or helmets make the next biggest difference, but both are an order of magnitude below rider position in importance.
This link is a little dated, but gives some perspective
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/a...rodynamics.htm
Aero wheels in that data were worth 18 seconds over a 40k TT compared to conventional 32 spoke wheels. Some modern very aero wheels, such as Zipp 808's might push that out to as much as a minute.
Whereas rider position can make as much as 5 minutes difference over just 10k.
http://www.analyticcycling.com/RiderAeroStudy.html
So we're talking pretty small time differences in time amongst difference wheels that are only relevent if your time trialing, and then only if your fast enough to be competitive.